Level 1

8 points

Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 4 connection

I have to migrate almost 1TB of data from a late 2014 Macmini (Thunderbolt 2) to a 2024 Macmini M4 (Thunderbolt 4). Wifi or Ethernet cable are too slow.

Will a Thunderbolt 2 cable with an Apple Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter do the job? If so where can I find an affordable Thunderbolt 2 cable that will definitely work?

Thanks.

iMac (M4)

Posted on Mar 9, 2025 04:11 AM

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6110 6

2 replies

Level 10

88,840 points

Mar 9, 2025 10:42 AM in response to mobree

A Thunderbolt 3 to 2 adapter and Thunderbolt 2 cable to use one time, will cost your more than a decent external HDD or SSD.

Plus there are no guaranties that it will connect and work as expected.

The fastest and most reliable way to migrate, is to plug the 2014 Mac mini's Time Machine backup drive into the M4 Mac mini.

see > Transfer to a new Mac with Migration Assistant - Apple Support

If you have a Time Machine backup for the 2014 Mac mini, use it to Migrate and then backup the M4 Mac mini.

If not, buy an external HDD or SSD and make a Time Machine backup of the 2014 Mac mini.

Then use that to Migrate and continue backing up the M4 Mac mini.

Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

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Level 6

16,721 points

Mar 9, 2025 04:40 PM in response to den.thed

+1

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Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 4 connection

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